


serendipity

by Xephonia



Category: Original Work
Genre: Chocolate Box Exchange 2018, Fantasy, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-15 00:58:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13602216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xephonia/pseuds/Xephonia
Summary: A nun gets roped into an adventure with a surprisingly human-friendly succubus.





	serendipity

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Syksy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Syksy/gifts).



> Hello!! I hope this is to your liking. \o/  
> Happy chocobox!

 

Lisette never  really wanted to be an exorcist.

The quiet life in the church is nice— except for when the altar girls pull at her hair— and this is one of the few churches that let people have some freedom .

Sure, there's a demonic castle one town over, but at least the barriers of this place kind of hold up.

Emphasis on 'kind of', because the rest of the town isn't as lucky.  The church does a poor job at protecting the town— it has demon hunters like Lisette's brother, but no exorcists .  Sure, demon hunters are helpful, but not when you have entire buildings  _ possessed _ by demons .

Lisette is more than capable; 'gifted', but  absolutely unwilling to be an exorcist.

The town is de-facto under demon rule. Though the sirens sometimes act up and try to have a piece of the humans.

There is something  inherently unfair about it.  Lisette doesn't want to have to do it, when other people are much more willing, even if they might have less of a natural talent .

(Which doesn't mean she doesn't have basic training for it. She  just doesn't do it.)

Why would fate be so ironic?

Lisette dusts off a book as a window gets blown open with incredible force that is not  just the wind.

_ Bad. _

__

"Go hide," she half-whispers, shooing the children further inside. 

Lisette had fighting lessons from her brother, but whatever is coming is likely stronger than her . Doesn't mean she won't try.

The heavy door creaks open the slightest bit, and a mirror shatters in one of the adjacent rooms. Great.

"You know, this place's barriers are like hell. Hell, they're worse than hell!  Hell is actually _kind of_ okay, I bet, at least my friends say so—" The high-pitched voice comes from the girl pushing open the door, and Lisette watches as the stranger wriggles herself through the small opening of the door .

Which is hard, because she has wings and a tail.

"This burns," the girl complains, petting her own wings.

The short stranger has long, green hair, still waist-length despite already having  been tied into a ponytail . Long, pointy ears and teeth; spade-shaped pupils—

...and the habit of a nun, altered to be a double slit dress.

_ Stay calm _ _,_ Lisette tells herself.

Now Lisette isn't your average nun.  Her brother kept bringing enough people home for her to  be used to this nonsense, but this is actually kind of offending .

"What do you want?" Lisette crosses her arms.

"Are you  really a nun?" The demon girl tilts her head, her wings flapping to show her confusion better. "You aren't blushing at all."

Lisette sighs. "So?"

"Meanie." The girl pouts. "I'm Reina! I'm the succubus who lives in the library two streets over."

"From the adult section?" Lisette raises an eyebrow.  She'd heard the rumours, but there were no actually regrettable casualties, so everyone  quickly forgot .

"Yeah, free prey and all." Reina grins. "No one ever wants to let me explore the other areas though."

"You're shameless."

"Excuse you, Sister, at least  _ I _ had the decency to introduce myself."

Lisette sighs. "Lisette."

"Huh?"

"My name."

"Cute."  Reina walks further inside, teal eyes flickering from Lisette's red, straight hair to the organ in the back . "Alright, Liz, where—"

"It's Lisette." Lisette already feels like strangling the girl, but Reina doesn't seem hostile for now.

"Got it, Liz." Reina smirks. "Where's the exorcist?"

Lisette grits her teeth. "We don't have any."

"Eeeh? Then I put this thing on for nothing." Reina gestures at her dress.

"How was that gonna work anyway?"

"I don't know, I figured you guys would appreciate the effort."

Lisette is about to lecture her when a child peeks out of the door. She sighs. "I'll be gone for a bit,  just don't do anything dumb."

The kids listen — because rumour has it that an angry Lisette is more dangerous than any demon could  possibly be— and Lisette grabs Reina's hand .

Reina protests. "I'm not hungry—"

"What on earth do you take me for." Lisette drags her out of the church, slamming the door shut.

Reina pouts, shaking her wrist free of Lisette's grip. "What was that for?"

"What makes you think that I would make out with you?"

"Dunno, people usually touch succubi for other reasons."

_Eh_? Lisette blinks, twice. Then. "Yeah, but I'm not 'people'. Get used to it."

One disadvantage of being a nun is an obligation to be somewhat polite and well-mannered.  Lisette is none of those things, and it's pure luck people understand her intentions anyway .

But with a succubus around, she doesn't need to try to be polite.

It's liberating.

Reina laughs. "You're good company."

"Whatever." Lisette crosses her arms. "So, what do you need an exorcist for?"

Reina pulls off her joke of a nun habit, making it disappear into thin air. "I want to become an adventurer!"

...

Lisette blinks. Lisette blinks twice. "What."

"An adventurer.  You know, slaying demons, talking to friendly villagers,  accidentally discovering the cure to some illness . What adventurers do!" Reina makes waves her hands like it explains anything.

"That sounds like a blatant lie."

"It's a half-truth, don't be so gloom."

Lisette raises an eyebrow."What's the other half of the truth then?"

"A meanie's been stealing all the cute people." Reina pouts, pointing in the general direction of the library. "And they have no style at all."

"No style?"

"You gotta offer your victims something in return for their life energy! Not  just leave them  barely alive or even kill them! A demon's gotta have standards."

_ Demons with standards, huh _ . Lisette sighs. "Alright, I'm not an exorcist, but—"

"But you have holy water and all that buzz, right? I can't touch any of that. I'd even pay you—"

"Not interested."

"—in material goods?"

Lisette considers that. Considers demon scrolls and potions to create cures for. Considers her life. Tries to not consider Reina's pout.

"Fine."

~*~

It turns out there was elaborate preparation for Lisette to become an exorcist, because everyone somehow expected her to do it because it's an honor and whatnot .

(Lisette  respectfully disagrees.)

They thought wrong, but here Lisette is anyway, eyeing the exorcist gear with scepticism . "That's more revealing than  your clothes. What on earth."

"You can say 'what the hell', you know." Reina provides  unhelpfully ,  tentatively touching the short pants. She  quickly jerks back, hissing in pain because exorcist gear only gets washed in holy water. " _Of_ _course_."

"Idiot," Lisette mumbles, putting on the questionable clothing with a grimace.

It's frustrating, to have to yield to this fate after all. After all she did to avoid becoming an exorcist.

But this is the first time something has actually happened— something drastic that could involve major casualties— and it's the first time Lisette realizes she's never been a bystander.

No one is.

She sighs. "Alright, so what kind of demon is doing what in the library?"

"She's a mare.  She kinda enslaved all the readers by giving them nightmares and sapping their life energy ."

"She  _ what _ ."

"Yeah." Reina's tail  idly wraps itself around one of the confiscated dark scrolls.

Lisette scowls. "Hands off. I thought you had standards."

"Mean."

~*~

On the way to the library, they hear soft, anxious meowing.

Reina immediately follows the source of the sound, flying. "Lisette."

Lisette blinks  slowly as she follows along. "Yeah?"

"Give me a good reason to not kill them."

Lisette catches up with Reina,  just to see a bunch of teens chasing a small cat around.

"It's fine if they're unconscious?" Lisette provides, turning her back. "I'll pretend I haven't seen a thing."

"Okay, hold your ears shut, too."

~*~

Moments pass.

Lisette thinks about how this is the first time Reina said her name right.

About how demons with standards might actually exist.

About how demons can be... kind.

_That's odd_ , she thinks, _but not_ _ entirely impossible. _

She turns around to see the teens knocked out, tied up in restraints. "Was that necessary?"

"A lot of cats are our familiars," Reina mutters. "And even if they weren't—"

Lisette nods. "I see." Then, with a bit of delay. "Good job."

Reina smiles.

~*~

The library, it turns out, has turned into a haunted house. Complete with catatonic humans, almost devoid of life energy, and books all over the floor.

"I always helped tidy up the floor," Reina whines. "And now this asshole has ruined the place. My favourite book got torn!"

Lisette knows she'll regret asking, but she does anyway. "Your favourite book?"

"Aphrodisiacs for Beginners."

" Of course ." Lisette rolls her eyes.

"Don't be such a killjoy, Lizzie."

"It's Lisette."

Reina  just laughs, and walks to the center of the room. "Come out! I challenge you."

From the shadows, a female voice. "Again?"

"Yes, again." Reina being serious was confusing the first time, but this time it's— strange.

"Lousy third-grade succubi like you should  just get lost. Befriending humans? What are you,  _ cattle _ ?" An appearance  is added to the voice— a tall woman with shoulder length purple hair.

Reina doesn't reply, instead she looks at her feet.

This is... _wrong_.

"Condescending..." Lisette grits her teeth.

Reina blinks. "Liz?"

Lisette dashes past Reina, towards the demon. "Condescending people like you are the  _ worst _ !" She hisses, and the next thing she knows is she's pinning the demon to the floor, holding a flask of holy water over her. "Give me one good reason to not end you here. People like you are the reason why I had to take on this task, after all."

"Well, isn't that your fault?" The demon laughs. "Those who believe will have to shoulder whatever path  is laid out for them."

Lisette hears a sound behind her, and she suspects it's magic, and she turns around, too late—

"You should pay more attention," Reina is there with that lopsided grin, holding off the magic attack directed at Lisette with a shield .

Lisette nods, putting enchanted restraints on the demon below her, ignoring the hissing and screaming . "Now we  just have to take this one out and cleanse and we'll be fine."

Reina makes a face. "I'll be elsewhere while you do the cleansing."

Somehow, Lisette can't help but to laugh a bit.

~*~

"What's that wound?" Lisette points at the  poorly done bandage on Reina's wrist. "You didn't have that before."

"I didn't react fast enough earlier," Reina laughs  lightly , dangling her legs.

They've decided to take a break at the lake.  Contrary to popular belief, succubi don't avoid large bodies of water— or rather, the sirens within them— after all .

_ Or at least Reina doesn't _ , Lisette adds in her thoughts.

"Thank you for helping me," Lisette now says. "And. Sorry."

"No need to apologize," Reina stretches herself. "Now we're even."

"For what?"

"You defended me when she said those things."

Lisette smiles and ruffles Reina's hair. "That's because you're a succubus with standards."

Reina blinks, twice. Then. "Is that all?"

"That is all." Lisette looks into the distance, sees shapes of sirens far, far away in the water. "Do you not dislike them?"

"No, we're friends. I  mostly dislike the demon kingdom."

"I don't mind them, either."

Silence. Reina opens her mouth as if to say something, then she closes it again.

"What?" Lisette raises an eyebrow.

"Wanna adventure with me?"

"Adventure?"

"Like what we did today, but always. There's enough nuns, right? And we can take breaks, too." Reina bats her eyelashes. "Lizzie?"

"It's Lisette," Lisette says  exasperatedly , "and this stuff doesn't work on me, I'm a nun."

"I was asking you as a friend."

"Friend?"

"Yeah, we're friends, right? We stood up for each other."

Lisette considers that. Are they friends? Reina is  probably the closest she's had to a peer in a while. "—If you act up, I'm going back home. And we stop once there's another exorcist who can handle it."

"Sure, Liz!"

"And stop calling me Liz."

"Alright, Lizzie."


End file.
